Deceived
by bionic4ever
Summary: Lisa Galloway has escaped from prison and she wants Steve.  Can Jaime get to him before Lisa does?
1. Chapter 1

**Deceived**

(author's note: Special thanks to Tigerlily for the original story idea, and to Julie for always being such a willing sounding board.)

Chapter One

It had been almost too easy. Lisa shed her prison uniform for jeans and a halter top, savoring the way even the air smelled different when you were free. Of course, they'd be looking for her as soon as that stupid dentist and his bimbo assistant woke up and freed themselves, but in the meantime, the world – and the object of her desire – were Lisa's for the taking. Steve Austin would be putty in her hands! Running the tip of her tongue across her lips like the predator she was, she put herself into full 'Jaime' mode and picked up the phone.

- - - - - -

The call had been a complete surprise to Steve. Jaime had sounded so happy, and not at all tentative, the way she'd usually been lately when it came to him. Ever since the operation had partially restored her memory and she'd been gently filled in on the rest, Jaime had been very skittish around Steve, afraid to acknowledge or discuss what would only cause pain for both of them.

Today, on the phone, she'd almost sounded like a different Jaime, like..._his _Jaime. She told him she wanted to talk about the two of them, about their relationship, and she'd told him to chill the glasses; she was bringing wine. Steve almost didn't dare to hope, and yet...he couldn't help himself. When he heard her gentle knock on the door, he unplugged the phone (so they wouldn't be disturbed) and took a deep breath, his pulse rising as he saw her on the doorstep. Her smile as she greeted him brought new hope to an aching heart.

- - - - - -

_"Excuse me? Could you repeat that?" _ Oscar was livid – red-faced, chain-cigar-smoking livid. _"Where the hell was the guard?" _Assured (but by no means reassured) that the prison system was doing everything possible to find the newly-escaped convict, he slammed down the phone and moved fluidly and quickly to the outer office to begin rapid-fire delivery of orders. The warden and his men had blown it; Oscar was in charge now.

"Callahan, I need Rudy Wells up here as soon as possible. Call Jack Hansen and have his best team personally escort Jaime Sommers here immediately. And get Steve Austin on the phone. Tell him Lisa Galloway is loose, and get him here – _now._"

- - - - - -

Lisa could tell by the look on Steve's face that he was buying it – she was pulling it off! Sadness tweaked her very briefly when she saw the love in his eyes and knew it wasn't really for her, but she could definitely use it, enjoy it and (for a few hours, at least) _make _it hers. She smiled at him, delving deep into those gorgeous eyes of his.

"Hi," she purred softly in her best 'Jaime' voice. She was careful to put just a touch of hesitance in her words. "I...really missed you." Lisa let her fingertips squeeze Steve's hand and then drift up his arm to his shoulder with a quick feather-touch as he held open the front door. Just as quickly, she pulled away, teasing him.

Steve looked at her in amazement, wondering just what Jaime was up to, what might really be on her mind. In the past, he'd found it best to wait her out, let her spill it all at her own pace. "I missed you, too," he told her, wanting to say so much more. He took the bottle of wine from her hand and set it on the coffee table next to two perfectly chilled glasses, deciding to let Jaime set the pace.

"I...haven't even told Rudy about this yet," Lisa said, sinking gracefully into one corner of the over-stuffed sofa.

"What? You aren't sick, are you?" He chose the opposite corner of the sofa with the intention of allowing Jaime space to breathe and be comfortable.

Lisa edged her body a little closer to him, her eyes locked into Steve's in a way that wouldn't let him look away. "No, nothing like that." She moved close enough now to lightly rest her hand on his arm. "I...remember, Steve," she whispered. "I remember..._us_."

Steve was floored. Was she saying what he thought he'd just heard? Was it possible? Her touch felt electric and her words sent shivers of happiness to the depths of his soul. "Are you ok?" he asked softly, when he'd found his voice again.

"That depends." Lisa inched toward him again, the gap between them nearly closed.

"On...?"

"You." She sank easily into the crook of Steve's arm, and her closeness made his arm snake reflexively around her waist, gently pulling her the rest of the distance. Their faces were now inches apart. Lisa smiled. "And that was exactly the right answer," she cooed, leaning in to brush his lips with her own. When she met eagerness and no resistance, she pressed in even further, her entire body against Steve's, feeling her every move reciprocated and savored.

- - - - - -


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Oscar and Rudy heard her before they saw her. Jaime was angry, and wanted everyone to know it. "I am perfectly capable of walking the last six feet and opening the door all by my helpless little self!" she ranted at her escorts, proving it by nearly tearing the door off the hinges as she stormed into Oscar's office. "Oscar, what the _hell_? You know how I feel about these NSB Goons – you couldn't just pick up the phone and say 'Jaime, I need to see you'?" She froze in her tracks when she saw Rudy, and paled at the looks on Oscar and Rudy's faces. "What's...going on?" she asked, much more quietly.

Oscar nodded to the NSB team, and they quietly (and gratefully) left, closing the inner office door on their way out. Rudy got up and placed a gentle hand on Jaime's back, guiding her to a chair. "Sit down, Honey," he suggested.

"Alright," Jaime went on, swallowing hard. "I'm here, I'm sitting and I am officially scared. What's going on?"

"Lisa Galloway escaped from custody this morning," Oscar announced in a grim voice.

Jaime's eyes grew wide with disbelief. "She's...loose?"

"Yes," Oscar confirmed. "I've got every available team out looking for her. We'll find her; I promise you that."

"Might as well get this outta the way," Jaime sighed, reaching across Oscar's desk and grabbing a scissors. Before either man could stop her, she made a small cut on the tip of her right index finger, and held her hand out to Rudy. "I'm me – ok?"

Rudy and Oscar exchanged quick glances. They hadn't intended to go that far, but at least now they knew for certain. "What about Steve?" Jaime asked as she removed a band-aid from her purse and covered the fingertip. "Is he coming here, or is he already out looking?" Neither man answered her at first. "You...did call him...didn't you?"

"We've been trying," Oscar finally told her, "but Steve isn't home. We're looking for him, too."

- - - - - -

Steve couldn't believe his good fortune. Having Jaime back in his arms was a bliss that he hadn't dared hope for, and yet – here she was. His head reeled with a giddiness that didn't come from the second glass of wine...or the third. They'd always been very close, physically, before Jaime's accident, and while she seemed even more of a fireball than usual today, Steve reasoned it had been a long time for both of them. Their kisses ignited a spontaneous combustion hotter than the beakers in Rudy's lab as they began to eagerly explore each other.

Lisa was feeling very giddy herself. Steve's eyes were no longer the only proof that her deception was working. She unbuttoned his shirt, drawing it back over his shoulders, and began kneading the strong, expansive muscles of his chest. She moaned softly as Steve's lips made their way down her neck to the hollow at the base of her throat. Her halter top fell away and she melted toward him as his soft, tender kisses replaced the light, cotton fabric.

"I love you, Jaime," Steve whispered in Lisa's ear.

"I love you, too," she told him, reaching for his belt buckle.

- - - - - -

Oscar and Rudy had wanted her to stay at the office; Oscar had, in fact, ordered her not to leave, for her own safety, but Jaime's every instinct told her Steve was in trouble, and she was on a personal mission to find him. She had her own key to his house – in case of emergencies – and was headed there first, to leave him a note and look for any appointment cards or indications of where he might've gone. She reasoned that if she didn't find him soon, this would very likely turn into a true emergency, and she had every intention of preventing that.

She wished his garage door had a window in it. Was his car there? Jaime fumbled for the key as she hurried up the sidewalk.

- - - - - -

Steve had considered sweeping Jaime into his arms and carrying her to his bed, but things had escalated far too quickly for that, and they found themselves on the floor in front of the fireplace, the thick, furry rug causing their bare skin to tingle. There were very few words now; there didn't need to be. Their bodies reunited, catching them both in a wave of passion that was so strong that the rest of the world simply disappeared for them both.

Steve was the first to look up and see the stunned figure in the hallway. As he watched tears of anguish and horror begin to pearl on the newcomer's face, he uttered exactly the same words she did, in near-perfect unison.

"Oh. My. God."

- - - - - -


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Steve's eyes moved from the naked woman beside him to her identical counterpart in the doorway and his heart sank, then shattered. The resemblance was incredible – right down to her voice and the blue, green and gold flecks in the irises of her eyes – but Steve knew with instant, nauseating certainty who was who. The woman in the doorway had used her key. He threw his pants on and jumped to his feet before the impostor could lay another finger on him.

Lisa stretched languidly, in no hurry to dress or even cover herself. She knew the game was over, but she'd gotten exactly what she came for: ecstasy in the loving, gentle arms of a man more concerned with her pleasure than with his own. Jaime walking in on the tail end of things was merely an added bonus – a cherry to top the most delicious sundae she'd ever known. She smiled at Jaime, a cat-like and evil victor's grin. "Sugar-Pie," she purred in a heavy Southern drawl, "now I know what you saw in him; this one is all man, and he is goo-o-od! Why you'd ever give this one up is beyond me."

Her words stung both Jaime and Steve like a sucker punch to the stomach, and Jaime was instantly standing over her, delivering a well-deserved slap across Lisa's face with all the strength her left hand could muster. Tears streaming quietly down her face, she headed wordlessly for the door. Steve intercepted her, needing to say...something.

"Jaime...I am so sorry," he pleaded. He could barely breathe. "I didn't...I thought -"

Jaime brushed the hot trails from her cheeks. "This...it isn't your fault," she said very softly. "You aren't the first person she's fooled."

"Still," Steve began, struggling to find the right words, "I..." He had held back in saying this to her since her amnesia, not wanting to hurt her any further, but right now, he _had _to tell her; she had to know. "I love you, Jaime," he said simply. He reached out to try and comfort her, but in spite of her words, Jaime backed away.

"Not...now," she stammered. "You need to call Oscar, and...I need air. I'll be outside." She made it as far as the bottom step of the front porch before sinking to the pavement, her head cradled in her arms, overwhelmed by emotions that were coming too fast to make any sense of.

Steve glared at Lisa as he reached for the phone. "Get dressed," he ordered in a cold, angry voice. "And if you even think of trying to run, I'll break one of my cardinal rules and for the first time in my life, I will hit a woman. And I will lay you out." He kept a close, wary eye on her as he dialed Oscar's number.

"Oscar, it's me. Lisa Galloway is here. I won't let her leave. And," he glanced outside at Jaime's huddled-up form on his front step, "you'd better bring Rudy."

Steve hung up the phone, still glaring at Lisa. He longed to join Jaime, to take her in his arms and make things right again, but he understood why she'd backed away from him. Those same arms had just held...someone else. He stood at the window, one eye on Lisa and the other on Jaime's back. Her shoulders were trembling visibly, and Steve ached with the knowledge that she was crying her eyes out, all alone.

Jaime _was _trembling, in part with anger toward Lisa and horror over what she'd just witnessed, but also at the images that were flashing rapid-fire-style through her mind. She could vividly see Steve and Lisa, on the floor, doing...what they'd been doing, but suddenly the picture changed. It was a different room (a bedroom), a different time (Jaime wasn't exactly sure when) and...she was with Steve, making love and enjoying the emotional union every bit as much as the physical one.

What the hell? Where did _that _come from? It was a memory she knew was hers, but Jaime couldn't remember ever seeing it in her mind's eye before. Another image quickly followed – also new – of herself and Steve in a tree house, savoring the afterglow of another session of the most perfect, complete kind of closeness. Jaime shivered; she didn't know what was happening to her, and while she yearned to run to Steve, to tell him and let him share her newfound knowledge (knowledge she knew he'd never lost), she didn't dare. The pain in her heart (and, she was sure, in Steve's, too) meant this simply wasn't the time for happy memories.

- - - - - -


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Oscar arrived, with Rudy in tow, a good five minutes before the fleet of penguin-suited G-men. (He hadn't recruited the very best OSI driver to get there last, after all.) They found Jaime sitting on the porch in a semi-fetal position with her knees drawn up to her chest. She looked up when she heard them approach, and her face was pale and tear-stained. Silently, she removed the bandage from her right index finger and held it out for inspection.

"Are you ok, Honey?" Rudy asked, kneeling down beside his shell-shocked patient. "What did Lisa do to you?"

"They're...inside," Jaime answered in a quiet, dull monotone. Oscar opened the door and went in, leaving Rudy with Jaime.

"I...I'm ok," she reassured her doctor.

"You don't look alright," Rudy told her. "What happened in there?" Jaime only shook her head; she wasn't ready to talk about it. "Jaime, you know they'll need a complete report," he reminded her gently.

"Oh, God..."

Rudy took her hand, moving seamlessly from doctor to friend. "What is it, Honey?"

"Steve...and – and Lisa..." Jaime made no effort to brush away the tears this time. "She...they were..."

From the stricken look on her face, a horrific possibility began to take shape, and Rudy tried to push it out of his mind, but something had rocked this very strong woman to her core. It was too awful, too cruel to even think about, and yet -

"She," Jaime nearly choked on the words, "she...seduced him, Rudy," Jaime whispered, her head falling to his shoulder for support as she completely dissolved. "I saw them."

"I'm so sorry," he told her. "I'm sure Steve didn't know -"

"He didn't," Jaime sobbed. "He felt as awful as I did when he saw me." She stopped talking and watched numbly as a crowd of NSB and OSI suits went into the house. She didn't intend to spill her soul to them.

Rudy, too, waited until they were alone. "Jaime, Honey, Steve loves you so much; I know he would never -"

"He thought Lisa was me," Jaime confirmed. "I could see it all over his face." She looked up, staring wistfully toward the house. "I hope he's ok."

"You know, since you do seem to be fine physically, I know there's someone who could make you feel better a lot more quickly than I could."

Jaime nodded. "If he'll even talk to me."

Rudy patted her shoulder as he stood up. "I'll go get him."

"Rudy? Please tell him...it wasn't his fault."

- - - - - -

Before Oscar got there, Lisa had remained sprawled out on the rug, taunting Steve with her nakedness. Finally, he picked up her clothes and threw them at her, aiming for her face to partially take care of his urge to deck her. "You know," he seethed, "you can sit there like that if you want – I really don't give a damn – but they'll be here any minute to haul you back to prison. If that's the way you wanna greet them, I'm not stopping you from humiliating yourself, but I would suggest you put your clothes on." He turned to look at Jaime again as Oscar and Rudy pulled up. "You make me sick," he told Lisa, his back to her as he waited for his boss. She wasn't going anywhere now.

Oscar came in the door just as Lisa slipped the halter top back over her head. That sight and the sick, disgusted look on Steve's face gave Oscar a hard knot of tension in the pit of his stomach. He'd been an Intelligence man long enough to deduce what had happened and his heart went out to Steve...and to Jaime. "Don't move a single muscle," he told Lisa, "or I won't even hesitate to shoot you." Oscar moved to Steve's side; Steve was unable to meet his inquiring gaze, confirming what he already knew.

"Is Jaime...ok?" Steve asked, very softly.

"Rudy's looking after her. What about you, Pal?"

"I'll be better once _she's _outta here."

Oscar nodded. "They'll be here any minute now." He could see that Steve was shaking with the extreme effort it took to keep his emotions in check. "This is the last light of day she'll be seeing for a very long time."

"Not long enough," Steve growled. He looked up as the room flooded with G-men who immediately surrounded Lisa, cuffing her and taking her into their custody. "Take her out the back," Steve requested. "Jaime doesn't need to look at her again." Only after Lisa had been led away did Steve allow a single, angry tear to escape from his eye. "She'll probably never talk to me again," he moaned, watching from the window as Rudy comforted Jaime and then rose to join them. "How is she, Rudy?" he asked, afraid to know but more afraid not to.

Rudy placed a fatherly arm around Steve's shoulders. "You need to talk to her, Steve."

"I don't think -"

"She's asked to see you."

Steve closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply to find his courage. His heart pounding harder than it ever had before, he opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch.

- - - - - -


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Jaime, I am so sorry," Steve said in a soft voice that was almost a whisper. He stood frozen, just outside his own front door, afraid to move toward her or cause her any more pain..

As much as Jaime yearned to be closer (his arms would feel so comforting), she wasn't quite ready yet. "It wasn't your fault," she reaffirmed quietly, "but...I need to ask you something." Jaime was too afraid of what would happen when she looked at Steve, so although she swiveled her body around in his direction, her eyes remained squarely on the ground.

"Ask me anything you need to."

"When you were...doing _that _with Lisa -"

Steve had to interrupt. "Jaime, I thought she was you. My mind and my heart...were with _you_. I...thought the rest of me was, too."

Finally, she looked up and their eyes met for the first time since she'd walked into the house. The intensity of the contact, of the emotions behind the gaze, took their breath away. Jaime saw a deeper, clearer love in Steve's eyes than she'd ever let herself acknowledge before, and Steve saw...something, too. Slowly, his eyes locked into hers, he lowered himself to sit down beside Jaime and raised a gentle hand to tenderly stroke her cheek, brushing away the trails of tears. He knew what he was seeing – recognized it instantly – but didn't dare to give it voice. That was up to Jaime.

Jaime knew exactly what was happening, too – and it was rocking her entire world. She knew, in theory, all about her past relationship with Steve and how strong it had been, but having it come flooding back into her heart, full force and all at once, was overwhelming.

"I was making love to _you_," Steve repeated.

"I know. Steve, I don't know how to say this...or even if I _should _say it, but...as ugly as this was today..." her voice trailed off as she searched for a way to describe it.

"I already know; your whole face just changed." He smiled tentatively as his fingertips grazed the palm of her hand then clasped it tightly. "You're back," he finished simply.

Jaime nodded, her eyes wide. "When I walked in there and saw you, I thought I was gonna die, and part of me wouldn't have minded if I had -"

"Jaime -"

"But seeing her with you, it was like seeing _us_. And now, I _do_ see us. Steve...I can feel _**us**_!"

"I know." He reached up to catch the last tear before it could pearl on her cheek. "Are you...alright?"

Jaime nodded, mesmerized by a feeling that was deeper than she'd ever thought was possible. "I knew that what we had was strong – special – but I had no idea it was this...um..."

"Intense?"

"Yeah." Jaime sighed with relief; he understood. "Now I know why you kept waiting – for this."

"Why don't we go inside and talk about it?" Steve suggested.

"No – I can't go back in there where _she_ was, where you and Lisa...not right now."

"I understand."

"Steve, I know we have to give reports to Oscar, and I have to tell Rudy what happened, but can we keep this part just for us – for a little while, anyway?"

Steve smiled at her. "Of course. I'll do whatever you need me to do, to make you comfortable." Oscar was giving them a little private time, but they both knew he was waiting in the house for them to make their statements. Steve's hand lingered a moment longer, reluctant to leave the soft skin of her face. "Want me to bring Oscar out here, so we can get it over with?"

"I suppose we have to." Jaime's eyes clung to Steve as he stood up. "Steve? I...I love you," she said with a quiet smile.

"I love you, too." _I always will._

- - - - - -

Oscar took Steve and Jaime's statements and then got straight to the point. "Jaime, taking off on your own against my orders – under any other circumstances, you'd be reprimanded strongly for that. But you both had an experience today that no one should ever have to go through, and if there's anything I can do to help you deal with it, I don't want you to even hesitate to ask -"

"Give Lisa her own face back," Jaime demanded. "That's a good start."

"I'm already on it," Oscar confirmed. "Took care of that while you two were talking." He eyed them both closely. It was obvious to his well-trained powers of observation that something had happened between them while they'd had that talk. They seemed _unified_, drawn together by a tragic error into a strong, cohesive bond that made the ugliness seem not worthwhile, but at least a little easier to swallow. "How does a vacation sound, in terms of soothing your spirits?"

"Make it a long one," Jaime requested, smiling, "and make it a double."

- - - - - -


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue

Jaime sighed with contentment as she rested her head on the shoulder she knew was the only one she'd ever want to lean on. Steve pushed the armrest that separated them down into its slot between the seats and pulled Jaime closer.

"Nice thing about a private jet – no stewardess to tell me 'no'."

"This feels so good," she said, snuggling into his chest.

Steve had to agree. Rudy had done three days' worth of thorough exams to ensure that Jaime had suffered no ill effects, physical or otherwise, from her newly-returned memories, and pronounced her to be in perfect health, aside from being a little shaken by the whole experience. Jaime and Steve were now on their way to a government-owned villa on a private island near the Bahamas. There, they would spend two weeks together, relaxing, talking...and _healing._

They'd both agreed to consider what was between them a new relationship, and just see where, if anywhere, it might take them. They could hardly wait to find out.

- - - - - -

Steve insisted on carrying in all of the luggage, spreading a blanket in the sand for Jaime to stretch out on. "I know you're perfectly capable," he said, answering her raised eyebrow, "but I'd like to do this, ok? I'll join you in a few minutes." Jaime gave him a quick, soft kiss and sat down.

"I'll be here."

Without needing to discuss it, Steve placed their luggage into two separate bedrooms. They both knew they might grow closer on this vacation...or they might not. After what had happened with Lisa, it would take some time for both of them – especially Jaime – to feel comfortable enough to climb into the same bed. If it happened on this vacation, great, but if not, there really was no hurry. Steve was content to wait and see, as long as he could do that waiting at Jaime's side.

He found her staring up at the clouds, something she'd always enjoyed when they were kids. "See any good ones?" he asked, grinning happily as he joined her on the blanket.

Jaime became noticeably more relaxed as Steve's arms encircled her. She pointed toward one large cloud cluster. "There's the Michelin Tire Man. Or you in a spacesuit."

Steve laughed, and it warmed him straight through to his heart when Jaime laughed with him. Their kiss was tender and filled with hope and emotion, and with the unspoken promise of two lifetimes spent in the way they'd always been intended – together.

END


End file.
